Hani

Hani is an opera commissioned by UCT and Cape Town Opera, composed by Bongani Ndodana-Breen, with a libretto by Mfundi Vundla.

Original text

The opera tells of the assassination of Chris Hani in 1993. The opera depicts assassinated SACP leader Chris Hani as an embodiment of all those who lost their lives fighting injustice. It is set in the dead of night in the study of the writer, who recalls an encounter with Hani and enters a dreamlike state, interacting with a soothsayer, a praise singer and a chorus of ancestors.

Productions

2010: Presented at the Baxter Theatre (November), directed by Marcus Desando as part of Five:20 Operas Made in SA

2015: Presented by Gauteng Opera at the Soweto Theatre (August), directed by Warona Seane. Soloists included Njabulo Mthimkhulu, Khumbuzile Dlamini and Phenye Modiane, conducted by Graham Scott, choreography by Thoko Sidiya, with set design and lighting by Wilhelm Disbergen.

Sources

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

"Five: 20 - Operas made in South Africa". University of Cape Town. https://humanities.uct.ac.za/cca/projects-archive-and-curatorship-arc-visual-university/five-20-operas-made-south-africa

'Gauteng Opera'. National Arts Council website. https://www.nac.org.za/artisan-post/gauteng-opera/